What is the purpose of the 'final' keyword in OOP?

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What is the purpose of the 'final' keyword in OOP?

In object-oriented programming, the 'final' keyword serves the purpose of restricting certain elements from being modified or overridden.

When applied to a class, the 'final' keyword indicates that the class cannot be subclassed, meaning it cannot be extended by any other class. This is useful when you want to prevent any further modifications or extensions to a particular class, ensuring its integrity and preventing any unintended changes to its behavior.

When applied to a method, the 'final' keyword indicates that the method cannot be overridden by any subclass. This is useful when you want to ensure that a specific behavior or implementation of a method remains unchanged throughout the inheritance hierarchy. It provides a way to enforce consistency and prevent any unintended modifications to the method's functionality.

When applied to a variable, the 'final' keyword indicates that the variable's value cannot be changed once it has been assigned. This is useful when you want to create constants or immutable variables that should not be modified during the execution of the program. It helps in maintaining data integrity and preventing accidental modifications to critical values.

Overall, the 'final' keyword in object-oriented programming provides a way to enforce restrictions and ensure immutability, consistency, and integrity in classes, methods, and variables.